1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operation data accumulation and transmission device which is connected to a numerical control section of a machine tool provided with said numerical control section, collects and accumulates data concerning an operating condition of the machine tool, and transmits accumulated data to an operation management device via telecommunication circuits, such as the Internet, and said operation management device, and also to an operation management system provided therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An operation management system which connects each numerical control section of a plurality of NC machine tools provided with said numerical control section to an operation management device via telecommunication circuits (including LAN, the Internet or the like) is conventionally known. In this operation management system, data on an operating condition of the machine tool is collected from each said numerical control section by said operation management device and accumulated, and the operating condition of each NC machine tool is centrally managed based on accumulated data.
Specifically, for example in an operation management system which connects a numerical control section of a machine tool to an operation management device installed within the same site via the LAN, it is configured so that the operation management device may be connected to each numerical control section at any time, sample data concerning the operating condition from each numerical control section, and accumulate sampled operating condition data for every machine tool, and an operation management of each machine tool is performed based on accumulated operating condition data.
In addition, in an operation management system in which a numerical control section of a machine tool installed in a remote site and an operation management device are connected via the Internet, it is configured so that each numerical control section and the operation management device may always be connected via the Internet, operating condition data of the machine tool corresponding to each numerical control section may be transmitted therefrom to the operation management device at any time, and the operating condition data for every machine tool may be accumulated in the operation management device, and as a result of this, the operation management of each machine tool is performed based on the accumulated operating condition data.
However, in the operation management system via the LAN described above, when the machine tool for management target increases in number, the sampling intervals of said operating condition data will become longer according to the number, resulting in a problem, that is, the operating condition of the machine tool cannot accurately be grasped. In other words, in order to grasp accurately the operating condition of the machine tool, the machine tool for management target is naturally restricted in number, and as a result of this, a wide range of management cannot be performed. In addition, there is also a problem that the machine tool installed in a remote site can not be managed.
In addition, the LAN is used for transferring a machining program or the like in many cases, and a communication load thereof is in an environment which tends to make it heavier. For this reason, when it enters into such a situation, an oversight in taking the operating condition data may occur, and the above-mentioned operating condition cannot be accurately grasped.
In addition, similarly, in the operation management system via the Internet described above, when the number of machine tools for management target increases, the load of the operation management device becomes extremely heavy, thus the number of the machine tools for management target is restricted, and there is also a problem that a wide range of management cannot be performed. Then, if a load beyond a throughput is applied, an oversight in taking the operating condition data may occur, and the operating condition may not be accurately grasped like the above.
In addition, in the operation management system via the Internet described above, although the connection to the machine tool in the remote site is available, since it is necessary to always connect the numerical control section to the operation management device in order to collect accurate data, the system may be placed in a dangerous situations, such as unauthorized access, virus infection or the like. On the other hand, while the dangerous situations mentioned above can be mostly avoided if the numerical control section and the operation management device are not always connected and are connected only during the data transmission, only occasional machine condition, such as a time of alarm occurrence and a time of machining completion, or a time of regular communication or the like can be grasped, that is, there is a problem that accurate data can not be collected.
In addition, since the data to be transmitted is usually a series of data with a predetermined length for each item, which indicates the operating condition, such as xe2x80x9cin operationxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cin suspensionxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cunder-alarmxe2x80x9d, corresponding thereto, it is hard to distinguish which part corresponds to which operating condition item among the transmitted data, in the case of filing data, namely during the accumulation thereof, there is a problem that a processing error such as taking out, storing and accumulating the data which do not correspond to the operating condition item, is easily made. Moreover, when adding data to be transmitted in the future, etc., there is also a problem that modifications of data analysis program at the operation management device side are difficult.
The present invention is made in view of the actual situations given above, the object of the present invention is to provide the operation management system or the like which enables the easy and accurate filing of data, and at the same time being able to accurately grasp the operating condition of the machine tool.
The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem relates to an operation data accumulation and transmission device of an operation management system which is configured to connect said operation data accumulation and transmission device to an operation management device via the telecommunication circuits, and said operation management device, and also to said operation management system.
Said operation data accumulation and transmission device is connected to a numerical control section of the machine tool provided with said numerical control section in one to one correspondence, collects and accumulates data on the operating condition of said machine tool, and transmits accumulated data to the operation management device via the telecommunication circuits, comprising:
operation data storage means for accumulating the data on the operating condition of said machine tool (operating condition data); and
data collection and transmission means for performing a process for connecting said numerical control section, collecting the operating condition data of said machine tool, and storing the collected operating condition data in said operation data storage means, and a process for transmitting the operating condition data stored in said operation data storage means to said operation management device via said telecommunication circuits.
On the other hand, said operation management device is configured so as to receive the operating condition data transmitted from each of said operation data accumulation and transmission device, and accumulate the operating condition data of this machine tool.
According to this operation management system, first, the operating condition data of the machine tool corresponding to the numerical control section is collected therefrom by the data collection and transmission means of the operation data accumulation and transmission device and the collected operating condition data are stored in the operation data storage means. Incidentally, said operating condition is grasped as an item concerning an accumulated time, such as an accumulated power-on time, an accumulated operating time, and an accumulated alarm occurrence time, and an item concerning a condition of the machine tools, such as xe2x80x9cin operationxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cin suspensionxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cunder-alarmxe2x80x9d. In addition, the operating condition data consist of time data and condition data (for example, 0, 1) corresponding to the item, the corresponding item and data are associated with each other and stored in said operation data storage means.
Then, the operating condition data accumulated in the operation data storage means in such a manner is transmitted via the telecommunication circuits to said operation management device, and the operating condition data for every corresponding machine tool is accumulated.
Thus, according to this operation management system, since the operation data accumulation and transmission device is arranged in one to one correspondence to the numerical control section, data sampling intervals when grasping the operating condition of the machine tool can be adequately made short, thereby enabling to accurately grasp the operating condition. In addition, an oversight in taking the data does not occur.
In addition, said operation data accumulation and transmission device in accordance with the present invention, may comprise:
operation data storage means for accumulating the data on the operating condition of said machine tool; and
data collection and transmission means for performing a process for connecting to said numerical control section, collecting the data on the operating condition of said machine tool, and storing the collected operating condition data in said operation data storage means, a process for confirming whether transmission condition that has been set beforehand is satisfied or not, and a process, when the transmission condition is satisfied, for connecting the Internet, and transmitting the operating condition data stored in said operation data storage means to said operation management device in an E-mail data format, and releasing the connection to the Internet after completion of the transmission.
According to this operation management system, first, the operating condition data of the machine tool corresponding to the numerical control section is collected therefrom by the data collection and transmission means of the operation data accumulation and transmission device, and the collected operating condition data is stored in the operation data storage means.
Then, the transmission condition that has been set beforehand is confirmed whether it is satisfied or not at any time, when the transmission condition is satisfied, the operating condition data stored in said operation data storage means is transmitted to said operation management device in the E-mail data format by connecting the Internet and the connection to the Internet is released after completion of the transmission. Then, the operating condition data is accumulated by said operation management device for every corresponding machine tool.
Incidentally, said transmission condition can be set as a condition to an amount of data stored in said operation data storage means, in this case, said data collection and transmission means is configured so as to compare the amount of data stored in said operation data storage means to a reference amount of data set as said transmission condition, generate said transmit data when said amount of stored data reaches said reference amount of data, and transmit the generated transmit data to said operation management device.
Or, said transmission condition can be set as a condition against the time taken for said data collection, in this case, said data collection and transmission means is configured so as to compare the time taken for said data collection to a reference time set as said transmission condition, generate said transmit data when said data collection time exceeds said reference time, and transmit the generated transmit data to said operation management device.
Thus, according to this operation management system, since the operation data accumulation and transmission device connects the Internet only during the transmission so as to transmit the operating condition data, dangerous situations, such as unauthorized access, virus infection or the like can be mostly avoided, a machine tool in a remote site can also be included among management targets. In addition, wherever the operation data accumulation and transmission device of a source and the operation management device of a destination may install, there is flexibility that what is necessary is just to specify an address of the destination, and it is possible to take the data without lacking time, resulting in enabling to accurately grasp the operating condition.
In addition, since the operating condition data accumulated in said operation data storage means is transmitted to the operation management device when the transmission condition that has been set beforehand is satisfied, said operating condition data can be suitably transmitted to the operation management device at the appropriate time, thereby, it is possible to prevent the data which should be accumulated in the operation data storage means from being abandoned because of exceeding the capacity, and the operating condition data can be made more accurate.
In addition, said operation data accumulation and transmission device, in accordance with the present invention, may comprise:
operation data storage means for accumulating the data on the operating condition of said machine tool (operating condition data); and
data collection and transmission means for performing a process for connecting to said numerical control section, collecting the data on the operating condition of said machine tools, and storing the collected operating condition data in said operation data storage means, a process for generating the transmit data configured so as to associate a data-element identifier which defines the item concerning the operating condition with said operating condition data corresponding to this item based on the operating condition data stored in said operation data storage means, and a process for transmitting the generated transmit data to said operation management device via the telecommunication circuits.
According to this operation data accumulation and transmission device, first, the operating condition data of the machine tool which corresponds to the numerical control section is collected therefrom by said data collection and transmission means, and this is stored in the operation data storage means.
Thus, the operating condition data accumulated in the operation data storage means is formatted into the transmit data configured so as to associate the data-element identifier which defines the item concerning the operating condition with said operating condition data corresponding to this item. The data-element identifier is a so-called tag, said item concerning the operating condition is defined by this tag, said operating condition data is formatted into the transmit data with a structure sandwiched by, for example the tags, and the item concerning the operating condition and the operating condition data are mutually associated. Then, the transmit data generated in this manner is transmitted to said operation management device via said telecommunication circuits.
On the other hand, said operation management device, comprises:
database for accumulating the operating condition data received from said operation data accumulation and transmission device; and
data reception and update means for performing a process for receiving said transmit data transmitted from said operation data accumulation and transmission device, a process for analyzing said data-element identifier of the received transmit data, and recognizing the item concerning said operating condition defined by this data-element identifier, and a process for updating the operating condition data which is the data that has been stored in said database, and corresponds to said item that has been recognized by said received operating condition data.
According to this operation management device, the data-element identifier of the transmit data received from said operation data accumulation and transmission device is analyzed by the data reception and update means, the item concerning said operating condition defined by the data-element identifier is recognized, and the operating condition data which corresponds to said item that has been recognized among the data stored in said database by the received operating condition data.
As described above, since the transmit data transmitted from the operation data accumulation and transmission device has a structure where the item concerning the operating condition and the operating condition data are mutually associated, the operating condition data corresponding to the item of the operating condition can be distinguished with ease, thereby enabling the accurate updating of the data mentioned above. In addition, additions and modifications of the item for data accumulation can be made with ease.
Incidentally, said data collection and transmission means in this case is further configured so as to perform a process for confirming whether the transmission condition that has been set beforehand is satisfied or not, and may be configured so as to generated said transmit data and to transmit the generated transmit data to said operation management device when this transmission condition is satisfied.
Then, said transmission condition can be set as a condition to the amount of data stored in said operation data storage means, in this case, said data collection and transmission means is configured so as to compare the amount of data stored in said operation data storage means to the reference amount of data as said transmission condition, and when said amount of stored data reaches said reference amount of data, to generate said transmit data and transmit the generated transmit data to said operation management device.
Or, said transmission condition can be set as a condition to the time taken for said data collection, in this case, said data collection and transmission means is configured so as to compare the time taken for said data collection to the reference time as said transmission condition, and when said data collection time exceeds said reference time, to generate said transmit data, and transmit the generated transmit data to said operation management device.
Thus, the operating condition data accumulated in said operation data storage means can be suitably transmitted to the operation management device at the suitable time, it is possible to prevent the data which should be accumulated in the operation data storage means from being abandoned because of exceeding the capacity, and the operating condition data can be made more accurate.